It was a game that had everything, pure drama and an ending that only befitted a hard fought win. United sprung a few surprises in the starting line up where De Gea was reinstated back in goal and Cleverley was given the start in midfield.
Although City had the lion share of possession in the opening quarter they met a resolute United defence and all the set pieces City put in United repelled everything and even Robin van Persie put in some crucial defensive headers.
United took the lead when Van Persie and Young combined down the left and Young outpaced Kompany and shifted the ball to Rooney and with a couple of touches guided the ball past Joe Hart in the goal and United scored against the run of play.
United were now starting to get on top and City suffered a blow when Kompany had to go off and replaced by Yaya brother Kolo and in no time United went 2 up. A ball by Carrick arrived at Valencia feet and he combined with Rafael down the right. Rafael then sent in a perfect ball where Rooney met it on the run and the ball was smashed in past a stranded Joe Hart and an absence City defence.
City were under real pressure and although Aquero had a couple of weak efforts, United were on top and were snuffing any real threat. Ballotelli a surprise starter for City was non existent and only had one opportunity when Clichy burst through and squared the ball and in turn he blasted the ball wide.
The second half saw a fantastic half of football and the real turning point for City was replacing Ballotelli with Carlos Tevez. He left the field and headed down the tunnel which summed up his contribution. Tevez added a spark to city but United were still holding there own. A crucial turning point was on the 61st minute. United were pushing forward and a van Persie shot came off the post and landed at Young feet who simply guided the ball into the net, United were 3 up but the linesmen flagged offside and the TV evidence suggested he had been played onside. Within seconds City went up the field and despite a double save by De Gea, Tevez planted the ball at Yaya Toure feet and he gave City a lifeline.
Tevez had a close chance but Evra got in a timely tackle, the game was starting to get niggly with Rooney and Yaya earning yellow cards. The last 10 minutes saw a frenetic end to end, David Silva saw an effort saved by De Gea and with 4 minutes remaining City got there equaliser. A corner was cleared by van Persie and Zabaletta drilled the ball in from the edge of the penalty box. Both teams were pressing for the winner and Silva had a great chance but De Gea made another crucial save.
Four minutes of injury time was announced and United earned a free kick after hesitation between Clichy and Hart, Clichy was robbed off the ball by sub Welbeck, Carrick played a short ball to Rafael who was tripped by Tevez. The resulting free kick by Van Persie found it's way into the net via a Nasri straying leg. A poor effort by Nasri did not help Hart and the game was up for City. In the celebrations Rio Ferdinand was hit by a coin and a melee erupted in the City supporters section. Shortly after the game ended and United had stretched there lead to 6 points.
It was probably United's finest performance of the season and it would be very hard to pick a man of the match. All of the team were superb with De Gea making crucial saves. Cleverley being a major influence, Young terrorising the City defence but Rooney all round mature performance was the key to this United performance. He was a constant threat going forward and helped United all over the pitch.
No comments:
Post a Comment